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Swedish police chief Mats Lofving found dead after inquiry

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A senior police officer from Sweden was discovered deceased at his house in a case that the police have deemed “very unfortunate.” Regional police commander for Stockholm, Mats Lofving, was only under investigation for choices he allegedly made while dating the former head of police intelligence.

The injured person was reported to the police at Norrkoping, 160 kilometres (100 miles) south-west of Stockholm. They claimed that he could not be saved.

Police had opened a preliminary murder investigation, a spokesman told Swedish media, because it was yet unclear what caused his death.

An outside investigation had already discovered that Lofving, 61, who served as deputy national police chief, had a conflict of interest in several of the choices he made regarding Linda Staaf, the department’s intelligence chief (Noa).

Ms. Staaf has insisted time and time again that her relationship with Lofving was never more than platonic.

Runar Viksten, the special investigator who oversaw the inquiry, found no proof that she and Lofving were dating at the time she was named intelligence chief in 2015.

She received her service weapon from the police chief in 2020, her contract was extended and her pay was increased, and she was also given approval to write a crime fiction.

The investigation discovered that while Lofving’s judgements were neither unjustified nor improper, he shouldn’t have made them.

Lofving said that the conclusions had been challenging to hear on Wednesday to Sweden’s state television. He should either relinquish his position as police chief or resign entirely, according to the study.

Hours before the news of his death broke, Ms. Staaf claimed she was fully suited for the position and felt vindicated because the investigation found that the judgements taken regarding her were correct.

She believed the police authorities might have provided her with more assistance, though. She claimed to have been the target of a “smear campaign” to the Swedish media in December of last year.

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Teacher stabbed to death by pupil in France

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In a school in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France, a high school student fatally stabbed a teacher. Olivier Véran, a spokesman for the French government, confirmed the attack on Wednesday and stated that the offender was 16 years old.

Police and the district attorney went to Saint-Thomas d’Aquin school, where the student was detained. According to the French publication Sud Ouest, the perpetrator attacked the teacher as she was teaching a Spanish class inside the classroom.

As emergency personnel arrived at the school, the teacher, who was in her 50s, passed away from a heart attack, according to local media. According to French television station BFM, the assailant locked the classroom door before stabbing the teacher in the chest.

Local police had launched an assassination inquiry, according to municipal prosecutor Jerome Bourrier, and the suspect was in jail. He continued by saying that neither the police nor the legal system knew who the culprit was.

On Thursday afternoon, the prosecutor will hold a press conference to provide additional information on the investigation. The attack was referred to as “a tragedy of exceptional seriousness” by France’s Minister of Education, Pap Ndiaye, who also offered his sympathies.

The school is a private, Catholic institution located close to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, a popular French summer vacation destination. Around midday, those pupils who had been instructed to stay in their classes were permitted to go, and many were picked up by their parents.

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Turkey earthquake: Deadly new tremor traps people under rubble

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In Turkey, where another earthquake struck and at least six people were killed, rescuers are once more looking for those who are buried beneath the wreckage. A 6.4 magnitude earthquake that ravaged both countries on February 6 occurred close to Antakya, Turkey, which is located close to the Syrian border.

In Turkey and Syria, the preceding earthquakes left 44,000 people dead and tens of thousands displaced. On Monday, tremor-weakened buildings toppled in both nations. According to Turkey’s disaster and emergency ministry, the 6.4 earthquake struck at a depth of 10 km at 20:04 local time (17:04 GMT) (6.2 miles).

Three minutes later, a 5.8 aftershock occurred, and then dozens of smaller aftershocks followed.

Dr. Fahrettin Koca, the health minister, reported 294 injuries, 18 of them serious.

Since the earthquake occurred in a region that was largely deserted after being severely damaged by the quake on February 6, it is believed that the death toll was comparatively low this time.

As paramedics and rescue teams worked to get to the worst-affected neighbourhoods, where the walls of severely damaged buildings had collapsed, reports from the city of Antakya described terror and panic in the streets.

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Ukraine war: Europe fights to maintain solidarity

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As Kyiv gets ready to commemorate the sombre and deadly one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Vice President Joe Biden’s unexpected trip to Ukraine on Monday is a startling demonstration of support and an intended strong message to Moscow.

The Ukrainian leadership was naturally happy to see the US president, but as a dedicated observer of Europe, one comment in particular caught my attention.

Andriy Melnyk, deputy foreign minister, praised “the presence of our vital, main partner.”

The primary threat posed by Vladimir Putin’s aggressive ambition is to European security. He has reintroduced conventional warfare to this continent on a scale not seen since World War Two as a result of his invasion of Ukraine.

The sense of calm and relative security that most of us were accustomed to has been destroyed by his acts. The potential of a nuclear assault is being addressed as a serious possibility, albeit a remote one, for the first time since the Cold War.

Yet, Europe is made up of many different parts, both inside and outside the EU.The Russian incursion has served as a stark warning to Europeans—including France’s President Macron, a vocal supporter of Europe’s “strategic autonomy”—that the region cannot rely only on itself for defence. In comparison to the US, they lack the resources, the military might, and the undivided resolve (and even there, some tiny political fractures are beginning to show).

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Turkey earthquake: Rescue effort ends in all but two areas

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About two weeks after a major earthquake killed tens of thousands of people, Turkey has stopped rescue efforts in all but two provinces, the nation’s disaster agency reported. According to the agency’s leader, searches will continue in Kahramanmaras and Hatay.

On Friday, survivors were still being extracted from the wreckage, but chances of discovering more survivors are dwindling. On Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to Turkey. He had planned the vacation before the catastrophe.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Kahramanmaras on February 6 had its epicentre there. There have been confirmed fatalities totaling more than 44,000 in northern Syria and southeast Turkey.

With around 345,000 apartments in Turkey reported to have been damaged and numerous others still missing, the death toll is sure to rise. The number of those who are still missing has not been disclosed by Turkey or Syria.

According to Yunus Sezer, the head of the disaster agency, “search and rescue efforts have been concluded in several of our provinces.”

Over 40 structures in the two provinces, he added, were still the subject of search and rescue operations, though he anticipated that this number would decline by Sunday night.

More than 11 days after they were buried by the earthquake, rescuers retrieved at least three individuals from the ruins on Friday.

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Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu found dead after Turkey earthquake

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According to his agent, the body of former Premier League player and Ghanaian Christian Atsu was discovered in Turkey’s earthquake debris.

Atsu, 31, was wrongly reported to have been rushed to the hospital last week. He was really playing for Super Lig team Hatayspor following earlier stops at Newcastle United and Everton.

After the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6 and killed tens of thousands of people, he had been reported missing in Antakya.

Nana Sechere tweeted: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to announce to all well wishers that sadly Christian Atsu’s body was recovered this morning. My deepest condolences go to his family and loved ones.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their prayers and support. I ask that whilst we make the necessary arrangements, that everyone would please respect the privacy of the family during this very difficult time.”

After spending a portion of his boyhood at the Feyenoord academy in Ghana, Atsu joined Porto in 2011 and then signed with Chelsea for a sum of £3.5 million two years later. He was loaned to Vitesse, Bournemouth, Everton, and Málaga and did not play for the Blues’ first team.

Atsu had a fruitful loan season with Newcastle in 2016–17, and the following year, he committed permanently to the team for £6.2 million. He played with the Magpies for 75 games before moving on to Al-Raed in Saudi Arabia and then Hatayspor. On February 5, the day before two tragic earthquakes shook southeast Turkey, Atsu entered the game as a replacement and scored the game-winning goal against Kasimpasa.

Outside from football, Atsu served as an ambassador for the children’s charity Arms Around the Child, which has offices in Ghana, South Africa, and India and offers homes, protection, support, and education for kids.

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Bulgarian police find 18 people dead in abandoned truck

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According to the Bulgarian administration, at least 18 individuals have been found dead inside an abandoned vehicle. Over 40 migrants looked to have been being unlawfully transported by the van. The survivors were transported to a hospital for medical attention.

The truck was found close to the Lokorsko settlement, 20 kilometres (12 miles) northeast of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The enormous number of persons attempting to join the EU from Turkey has long been a problem for Bulgaria.

It is thought to be the most fatal immigrant-related incident to have occurred in Bulgaria.

According to the interior ministry, the van “was unlawfully transporting about 40 migrants concealed under some timber.” “Eleven of them have passed away.”

As per Bulgaria’s health emergency centre, eight of the patients who were taken to the hospital on a medical emergency were in a critical condition.

According to sources, police are looking for the people traffickers who they believe to have drove the vehicle and fled.

Asylum seekers claim they have been stopped, arrested, stripped, and beaten while trying to enter Bulgaria from Turkey. Asylum seekers have accused Bulgaria of torturing persons trying to enter from Turkey.

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Lukashenko warns Belarus will join Russia in war if attacked

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Few people are as familiar with Vladimir Putin as Alexander Lukashenko. The authoritarian ruler of Belarus is a staunch supporter of the “special military operation,” as Mr. Putin refers to it, which is what the majority of the rest of the world refers to as Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.

Mr. Putin hasn’t had a conversation with Western journalists since his extensive invasion of Ukraine a year ago. Nonetheless, Mr. Lukashenko answered questions from a select number of foreign media, including the BBC, today in Minsk.

There has been a rise in military cooperation between Russia and Belarus, as evidenced by joint exercises and the creation of a combined military organisation. Yet, up to this point, the president of Belarus has refrained from sending his troops into Ukraine to fight with Russian forces.

Alexander Lukashenko is not recognised as the rightful leader of Belarus by the UK, EU, or the US. Belarusians flocked to the streets in 2020 to protest him for allegedly stealing the nation’s presidential election. The demonstrations were mercilessly put down.

Using the incident on Thursday, Mr. Lukashenko accused the West of starting the war in Ukraine.

He made accusations against Western nations for escalating the situation and displayed some Putinesque nuclear sabre-rattling.

Having facilitated the Russian invasion of Ukraine one year ago, the Belarusian leader now claims he can help negotiate peace.

Mr Lukashenko suggested that next week would be a good time to start, with US President Joe Biden due to visit Poland.

“I invite [President Biden] to Belarus,” Mr Lukashenko said. “It’s not far from Warsaw, Thirty minutes and he’ll be in Minsk. He could land his plane here. I will persuade the president of Russia to come. I invite him too to Minsk, as well as Biden. We will sit down and reach an agreement.”

It is an invitation the US president is likely to decline. In this war Mr Lukashenko is not seen as an honest broker.

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Italy ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi acquitted in ‘bunga-bunga’ party case

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Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was cleared of paying witnesses to fabricate stories about his infamous “bunga-bunga” parties.

The 86-year-old multibillionaire media tycoon was charged with paying young showgirls and other witnesses to provide false testimony on the allegedly pornographic gatherings.

The remaining 28 defendants were all found not guilty, including Moroccan dancer Karima El Mahroug, also known as Ruby, who was involved in a previous Berlusconi case. Berlusconi has had numerous legal battles.

Right-wing senator Ruby successfully appealed his conviction for paying for sex with a minor prostitute in the Ruby case. He denied having had intercourse with Ruby, and she denied ever having worked as a prostitute.

He has asserted innocence throughout his legal proceedings and charged that the prosecution is out for revenge on account of his political views. He argued that the gatherings, which some people had referred to as “orgies,” were actually formal dinners.

In 2013, Berlusconi was sentenced for tax fraud, which was the sole trial that resulted in a conviction. Italian justice was sympathetic with him because of his advanced age; he completed a year of volunteer work at a nursing home close to Milan. Between 1994 and 2011, Berlusconi served as prime minister three times. In the “bunga-bunga” trial, he was accused of paying witnesses millions of euros in hush money, but he insisted that the money was offered as compensation for persons connected to the notorious parties who had their reputations damaged.

He was temporarily barred from political office over his conviction for tax fraud, but won a seat in the Senate in 2022 elections.

His Forza Italia party plays a key role in Italy’s ruling right-wing coalition, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. She hailed his acquittal as “excellent news that puts an end to a long legal case that also had important repercussions on Italian political and institutional life”.

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Ford to cut 3,800 jobs in Europe, mostly in Germany, UK in next 3 yrs

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In an effort to streamline operations as it deals with economic headwinds and rising competition for electric cars, Ford announced on Tuesday that it will eliminate 3,800 jobs in Europe over the next three years.

According to the carmaker, 2,300 jobs would be lost in Germany, 1,300 in the U.K., and 200 in other parts of Europe. It claimed that its plan to have an all-electric fleet available in Europe by 2035 remained the same and that it would soon begin producing its first electric vehicle with European components.

The American carmaker will retain around 3,400 engineers in the region who will build on core technology provided by their U.S. counterparts and adapt it to European customers, European passenger electric vehicle (EV) chief and head of Ford Germany Martin Sander said on a press call. “There is significantly less work to be done on drivetrains moving out of combustion engines. We are moving into a world with less global platforms where less engineering work is necessary. This is why we have to make the adjustments,” Sander said.

According to Sander, the automaker’s electrification plan hasn’t changed, and its objective to provide an all-electric fleet in Europe by 2035 remains the same. Later this year in Cologne, Ford will introduce its first electric vehicle in Europe built on Volkswagen’s MEB platform. Sander said Ford is also thinking about introducing a Ford platform to Europe, perhaps to its Valencia facility.

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